If You Are Going To Order One Book, Save Postage and Buy Two!

Since I had to "accidentally" purchase Alice Starmore's book, I decided to order a second one. This one is Mary Jane Mucklestone's book, 200 Fair Isle Motifs. The book is chock full of color plates sorted by the number of row and then by the number of stitches. I think that it would make it pretty easy to select an entire sweater worth of pattern.  In addition ,to the motif catalogue, the book contains a section on Essential Skills of Fair Isle Knitting. With information on yarn selection, proper equipment, swatching, color selection and steeking, this is a great resource for someone who wants to begin Fair Isle Knitting.

Happy knitting!

A Quick Book Review

Some books are bought after a lot of thought; some books are bought after a quick "look-see". Some books are bought by accident. Or should I say this book was bought after an accident. Thankfully, I really liked the book!

There are a couple of colleagues at my office that are fiber artists. I told you about one who taught me how to spin my own yarn. She got Alice Starmore's Charts for Color Knitting as a gift from her husband for Christmas and was generous enough to loan it to me for a weekend to read. I intended to return it to her on the following Monday, but she was out of the office, so I carried it back and forth on my commute one more time. 

I drink a large thermos of coffee every morning on the way to work. I guess it doesn't take much effort to imagine what happened next -- after only a couple of sips of coffee, I threw the thermos in my commuting bag, but the lid was not closed properly, and my bag was drenched with coffee -- extra cream. The book was in another compartment, but there was enough coffee was in the thermos that the binding on the book turned brown. So I had to hop on Amazon and buy a new copy for my colleague and I kept the coffee copy for myself. At least I really like the book.

This is the new and expanded edition. In it, Starmore has a number of traditional and self designed motifs. The traditional patterns come from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Russia and several other countries. The charts of the patterns in the book are clear and easy to read. The photos of her work are treats to the eyes.

I have already made good use of my "accidental" purchase. I have two of the motifs in my new design that I am creating. You can see the first motif (the triangles) just above the ribbing.

I'll use this book a lot -- it's a classic!

Happy reading about knitting!

You Can't Read Just One. . . .

I know. . .another book! Don't I have enough patterns? When am I ever going to find time to do all of them? Isn't that just an extravagance? Well, yeah, I do have enough patterns. No, I may never find time to knit all the patterns. Maybe it is extravagant, but when you buy one book on line, you might as well buy a second or third so that save on postage and handling overall. (OK, that is a reach, but let's not get distracted.)

One + One Scarves, Shawls & Shrugs edited by Iris Schreier is full of beautiful neck and shoulder wear. Lately, I have been looking for knitted items to wear all year which will dress up a plain blouse at work and this book fits the bill. With seven scarves, 9 cowls and capelets, 8 shawls and wraps, and 5 shrugs there is something for everyone in this book. But these patterns are not for the faint of heart -- there are only three "beginner patterns" and 2 "easy patterns" in the collection. The techniques offered in the book include provisional and mobius cast-ons, carrying yarns (as many of the patterns alternates between two yarns), short rows (for those sock enthusiasts among us) and adding beads to your knitting. There is little boring about this book!

For me, some of these patterns such as the Cashmere Bolero or the Peekaboo Shrug would end up being gifts for my daughter as they seem to be too youthful for my own taste. But I can easily see myself wearing the Striped Mobius, the Asymmetric Shawlette or the Lacy Textured Cowl.

Half the enjoyment of owning a book like this is reading the patterns. I once knew someone who liked to read recipe books but never really cooked. At least I knit once in a while.

Happy knitting!